Clay Guida on Anthony Pettis: 'I'm Going To Make Him Pay'

[WrestlingSmarks News]

Clay Guida has 13 fights under the UFC banner. Anthony Pettis has zero. In fact, Clay Guida's second UFC fight against Din Thomas at UFC Fight Night 8 (which Clay won by decision) was two nights before Anthony made his MMA debut. It's safe to say that The Carpenter has the edge in experience. He also wants people to know that he's paid his dues, and Showtime has not. In an interview with Franklin McNeil of ESPN, he was pretty candid with his feelings on the subject:

"It's the fact that I've paid my dues in the UFC," Guida (28-11-0) told ESPN.com. "It's my time. I'm going to make him pay [his UFC dues] June 4. It's not out of any rivalry or anything like that, but he's going to realize that it's time to step it up."

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Guida, who's 8-5 in the UFC, has fought a laundry list of top talent at lightweight. He didn't always win, but he's proven himself to be one of the grittiest guys in the division. He believes his experience edge will be important on Saturday:

"He has fought some tough guys," Guida said. "He has wins over Shane Roller and Ben Henderson -- they are tough guys. But I've fought the best in the cage.

"Pettis is super tough. He's riding a wave of confidence, he's got the kick heard around the world and he's beaten some tough guys. But I know I've fought and lost to tougher guys than him, and I've beaten better guys than him."

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There are some interesting quotes in response to Clay from Pettis' trainer Duke Roufus:

"Clay Guida, if he wins, the only way he's going to win is by being boring," Roufus said. "If Anthony loses, at least he's going to go out there and fight for the fans."

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Guida isn't buying that though:

"I'm going out there guns blazing," Guida said. "I'm looking to finish this fight. It's important to finish this and not leave it in the hands of judges. I don't want there to be a big question mark at the end of this fight."

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I can understand where Roufus is coming from to a degree, but he's exaggerating a bit. Guida has won a few boring fights, but he's won a bunch of exciting ones too. Guida is on a three-fight winning streak coming into this bout and expects to be in contention for a title shot with a win. It's hard to blame him for thinking that, and knocking off the much-ballyhooed Pettis would be one of the biggest wins of his career. Saturday should be pretty interesting.